Fired cop gets job back

Officer accused of sending explicit video will be demoted

A Plantation police officer will return to work today after an arbitrator ruled he shouldn’t have been fired last year for sending an explicit video of himself to a crime victim, the agency said Monday.

The arbitrator last week ruled Detective Peter Saglio would return to the agency with a demotion to patrol officer and no back pay.

The arbitrator concluded that Saglio’s firing, which happened in April 2016, was too severe of a step for what Saglio did, writing, “I am persuaded that something less than discharge would have sufficed.”

“What Pete did was an accident and not misconduct,” Saglio’s attorney, Eugene Gibbons, said. “The video was intended for his wife, and while there are people who are offended by that type of video, that’s not the issue. The issue is, ‘Did he commit misconduct at work?’ and he didn’t.”

The case began in January 2015 when a Plantation woman filed a report for harassment from an anonymous person. The person was sending unwanted bouquets of flowers to her home with cryptic messages, making the woman afraid, and it was considered cyberstalking because they were ordered over the internet.

Saglio was assigned the case, and in the weeks that followed, he and the woman exchanged 536 text messages over his iPod, much of it “of a personal nature and unrelated to her case. This exchange could be characterized as flirtatious,” according to internal affairs records.

On March 3, 2015, about 11:30 p.m., he sent a 26-second video of himself engaging in a sex act, and smashed the device to try to destroy the evidence, according to records.

Saglio told his bosses that he had “messed up” when he realized he had sent the video that was meant for his wife to the crime victim. He had texted the woman asking her not to open it, and records show she opened it at the same time.

The arbitrator ruled that the facts showed that the video was sent inadvertently, “which does not rise to the level that it was done with criminal intent.”

“The police chief is within his rights of protecting the sanctity of his department,” the arbitrator wrote. “He did not [let] a bad employee go — just [an] imprudent one.”

The union argued there were factors that should offset his discipline, including his more than 20-year career in which he served as a SWAT member and was wellrespected.

Chief Howard Harrison said at the time he wanted Saglio gone, writing “unfortunately your actions have permanently impaired your ability to perform as a police officer with this agency.”

Saglio was fired April 25, 2016, for violation of three internal policies, including conduct unbecoming a member and moral character.

Harrison said Monday he had no comment about the arbitrator’s decision.

Hired by Plantation police in 1995, Saglio was earning $80,308 annually when he was put on paid administrative leave March 6, 2015.

Gibbons said although the video was sent during work hours, that was still not a fireable offense.

“The fact of the matter is employees every day send something of a personal nature, whether it’s a picture of their kids or grocery lists via text message to their significant others during the work days,” Gibbons said. “It’s the content the city overreacted on.”

He said Saglio is “looking forward to going back to his career.”

Even though Saglio received a demotion, he still will receive the same pay because officers and detectives have the same pay scale.